v0.8.5 · Free & open source · macOS 14+
ClipGauge lives in your Mac's menu bar. Drop in a folder of camera files and it looks at every clip, listens to it, and renames it where it sits, so CAM_0034.MP4 becomes a name you can actually search. Nothing leaves your Mac.
CAM_20261004102233_0014_D.MP4 → 20261004_retro-game-expo_host-intro_talking-head.mp4
Native Swift · Apple silicon recommended (universal app) · MIT licensed · Unofficial, not affiliated with Blackmagic Design, Ollama or OpenAI
ClipGaugeRenamer · Live⚙︎Paused while clips are processing, back when the run finishes
Describe · 92 min left in this project
Queue: 1 done · 1 running · 1 waiting · 1 paused · 59 clip(s) left
Last: 20261004_retro-game-expo_host-intro_talking-head.mp4
40%Tue 9:41 PMLives in your menu bar. A green percent while it works, orange when DaVinci Resolve is open and it's waiting, and nothing at all when it's idle.
Features
Each folder you drop on ClipGauge becomes a project in the queue. Start it, walk away, and come back to clips that say what's in them.
Original and new name, clip type, confidence and status for every clip. Low-confidence clips keep their name and wait for you in Review…
[00:00:03 → 00:00:07] Welcome back, today we're at the retro game expo.
[00:01:12 → 00:01:16] This booth has a boxed console I've never seen.
20261004_retro-game-expo_host-intro_talking-head.mp4
whisper.cpp transcribes every clip with speech. Search across every transcript, and get a JSON + Markdown bundle saved right next to the clips.
Video Project_transcripts.md
52 clips · 38 with speech · 14 silent
## 20261004_…_host-intro_talking-head.mp4
- [00:00:03 → 00:00:07] #0001 Welcome back…
Hand the transcript bundle to your favorite chat bot. Every line is time-stamped and points back to its clip, so the bot can cite b-roll and quotes.
Reorder, pause, skip or remove projects. Each one has its own mode, Transcribe switch, progress and undo.
Stopped, quit, crashed or the Mac went to sleep? Resume picks up with the next unfinished clip.
Ollama's qwen2.5vl looks at 9 frames of each clip; whisper.cpp writes down what's said.
JPEG, HEIC, DNG, PNG and more, dated from the camera's own EXIF time.
The chat sits at the top of the menu bar popover and beside the queue in the main window. Pick a model, attach a clip's transcript, press ⇧⌘A to jump in. The model stays loaded while ClipGauge is open and is unloaded when you quit. It pauses while clips process.
Choose the vision and speech models in Settings, or leave it on Automatic for your Mac's memory.
Press ⌃⌥C from anywhere. Settings is ⌘,, with tabs that match GrokGauge.
Point it at a folder your Macs already sync. Only preferences go there, never clips, notes or transcripts.
Naming
The new name is the “done” marker: a clip with a ClipGauge name is never processed twice.
When it was recorded: the camera's own time, never the day you copied it.
From the folder name, or the model's best guess at what the clip shows.
talking-head, broll, unboxing, gameplay, menu, photo and more. Name clashes get _t02, never an overwrite.
Safety
ClipGauge was built for a real editing drive, so the rules are strict.
_t02, _t03 and so on.How it works
ClipGauge keeps its project folder, AI models and logs together on any internal, external or network drive you choose.
Open the app and Setup checks Homebrew, Python, ffmpeg, Ollama and whisper.cpp. Install Missing… asks before every install.
Drag folders or clips onto the window or the menu bar icon. Rename them in place, or copy them into the inbox first.
Run a dry run to preview, then go live. When each project finishes, its transcript bundle lands next to the clips.
Install
Most of the time is the one-time model download (about 6 GB).
With Homebrew, one command installs ClipGauge plus ffmpeg, Ollama and whisper.cpp. The AI models are still pulled in Setup, only after you approve.
brew install --cask stevencombs/tap/clipgauge
Or download ClipGauge-0.8.5.zip, unzip it and drag ClipGauge.app into Applications. Each release has a .sha256 file so you can check the download.
shasum -a 256 -c ClipGauge-0.8.5.zip.sha256
Put the project folder on your Mac's internal disk, an external SSD, or a network share. A fast SSD is quickest, and an external one lets you move it between Macs without re-downloading models.
For Mac laptops, a compact USB-C SSD keeps it portable: recommended drive →
Affiliate link: I may earn a commission at no cost to you.
FAQ
No. The vision model runs in Ollama on your Mac and the speech model runs in whisper.cpp on your Mac. The network is only used to download the tools and models during setup, and for an optional update check.
Clips it isn't sure about keep their original name and are flagged needs review. You can accept the proposal or type your own. Any rename can be undone, by clip, batch or project, and the files keep their original dates.
Releases aren't notarized by Apple yet, so a downloaded copy gets a Gatekeeper warning. (The Homebrew cask clears the download quarantine flag on ClipGauge.app only, so it opens normally.) Right-click ClipGauge.app, choose Open, then Open again, or use System Settings › Privacy & Security › Open Anyway.
No. Any internal, external or network drive works (APFS, exFAT or HFS+). Network drives are slower and must stay mounted during a run.
On a 16 GB MacBook Air, plan on a few minutes per clip with the default model. Queue a batch before bed and it keeps the Mac awake until it's done.
Yes, carefully. It won't run while Resolve is open, never touches Resolve's own folders or Cloud-synced projects, and asks once before renaming clips inside your Resolve folder, because Resolve will need to relink them.
Nothing. ClipGauge is free and MIT licensed. If it saves you an evening of renaming clips, a tip is always appreciated.
More apps from retroCombs
Small, native menu bar apps for Mac, built in the open.
Your SuperGrok and Grok Bot weekly usage as colored rings in the menu bar, so the weekly limit never sneaks up on you.
Visit the GrokGauge page →
Local AI that renames and sorts your video and photo clips in place, with transcripts saved next to them.
ClipGauge was made by Steven “retroCombs” Combs together with Grok Bot. If it saves you an evening of renaming clips, you can say thanks with a tip.